Be Creative - Tricks and Treats

Lately, It has been hard to deny all the signs that fall is officially here; cool, crisp air, warm, cozy sweaters, and a returning craving for apples and squashes. With Halloween being the first holiday of the season, less than two weeks away, I started thinking about how to create an inviting, festive doorstep that can be used for more than just decoration after the 31st.
The indicative Halloween pumpkin can still be the star of the show, but instead of carving a jack-o-lantern why not keep it whole so you can actually eat it later in all those great fall recipes using the ingredient (pumpkin soup, ravioli, bread pudding...yum)! You can still make them spooky by stenciling (or free-handing if you have the talent) all the creepy characters and scenes that make you think of
Halloween...spiders in a web, a black cat with a full moon, or even the same triangular shapes you'd use otherwise. You could make a cluster of all different types of squashes with different shapes, knots, and wrinkles to make a family of ghosts and goblins - use your imagination (and you'll have more to cook later since large squashes like these have a really long shelf life).
Craft stores have great stencils so anyone can get involved and it's a whole lot less dangerous for the kids than carving. It's less limiting too, you don't have to keep the design connected and you can introduce color with fast drying non-toxic paint or permanent markers (just be sure to peel the skin off before doing any cooking). Now the only thing missing is that spooky, flickering candlelight that let's all the trick-or-treaters know that you are open for business. I have an idea for that, too. Reuse those small paper lunch bags as tealight holders. You can light a path to your front door or use them around your pumpkin display. Just add sand or plain old dirt from the back yard to steady the candle and keep it from burning the paper. Now that your creative juices are flowing, why not cut shapes in the bags, too just like making paper snowflakes.
If it just isn't Halloween without carving a traditional pumpkin, you can still use the "guts" that are normally thrown out for some good eating. Roast the seeds for a delicious and nutritious snack. Here's a little secret, stencils are great tools for carvers, too!
Happy Halloween!